RNJR: A Beacon of Hope
by Psychx
Summary: After the death of Pyrrha, Ruby gathers up the remainder of Team JNPR to hunt down Cinder. Following the events of Season 3, Team RNJR has set off only using advice from Qrow as to their first clue. Rated M for explicit scenes and language.
1. Prelude

Ruby Rose was the youngest of the four. One of the brightest young minds at Beacon, but with all the energy of the average 15-year-old, she was thrust into this position after the events at her school. She had witnessed the untimely end of two close friends in the past days, or so it felt like. She was put into a stress-induced coma after a power she wasn't fully aware of, freezing a Grimm and putting it in stasis, wreaking whatever else havoc her uncle and dad haven't told her. Everything just went white, and she woke up in bed in her own home. She had seen her older sister, her loving older sister, with a bandaged, amputated arm, due to the reckless indiscriminate blade of Blake's former partner, Adam. She wasn't out for revenge, no. She wanted justice.

Nora Valkyrie was a strong, joyful woman, and almost never a frown to be shown. She carried herself proudly and swung her hammer Magnhild with grace. After the events at Beacon, seeing her friends hurt and learning the fate of her teammate, she hasn't been her usual self. Yet still quick to laugh and bursting with excess energy in every way, she was by no means indefatigable. Everyone had their own reason for fighting, but she was just happy her friends could still fight.

Jaune Arc was tall, blonde, and broken. He had been left to pick up the pieces after his Pyrrha was killed, by the ruthless Cinder, self-proclaimed "future queen of Remnant." The last time he ever saw his dearest, she landed a kiss on his lips and left for the tower, strapping him into an "escape pod" to attempt to duel this being of seemingly overflowing power. Jaune had told Ruby to save her, for he knew she was in way over her head for once. But she was just too late. Jaune can't blame her, but he can blame himself. If he had just defended the doorway in the underground room, the arrow would have never flown true, and the fall maiden would never have died. Then Pyrrha could be here, and Beacon could still be around. But all he knew was he had to press on, and avenge the death of the woman who believed in him when no one else would.

Lie Ren was a Lie, a line of monks who valued harmony and balance over all other aspects. His training lent him a great deal of mastery with kama, a type of short blade. He would incorporate this into his weapon of choice, pistols with blades on the bottom for quick swings and deflection. At the battle of Beacon, he saw Nora get injured, and his internal balance was disrupted for the first time since attending Beacon. Now he's with her to join Ruby and Jaune to avenge their former teammate, with the hopes to once again restore harmony and peace to the land of Remnant.

"Goodbye mom. I'll make you proud, I promise."

Ruby lifted herself up and headed toward her new teammates. Jaune looked especially somber, as Ruby explained a bit about her own mother and how she still went to the grave for inspiration when she needed it.

"Mom always told me I could go to her for help." Ruby put up a small smile as she led the team back into the forest.

Summer Rose was buried on the viewpoint at the edge of the Cliffside Forest. Ruby was only 13 when her mother passed, and Yang was still at Signal as well. While Yang had been pretty well about it, stagnant with grief for a week, Ruby had taken it a lot harder. To her, she felt abandoned. To lose her mother at what felt like far too young an age. Yang had seen the disappearance of her own mother, Raven Branwen quite a bit earlier, but was used to Summer as a motherly figure in her life that she too could seek for sage advice. While Ruby never met Raven, she was blissfully unaware that Yang had a different mom until about the age of 10, when her Uncle Qrow informed her. Qrow Branwen was direct brother to Raven, and therefore also Ruby's half-uncle, but it mattered not. She would often see him as a second father to seek advice from when her own dad couldn't give a sufficient advice. Ruby did not prefer one over the other, but the fact she had this choice was invaluable.

Little is known about the circumstances surrounding Summer's death, as both Qrow and Taiyang Xiao Long, their shared father, would only state that she died on a mission. They refused to say what the mission was about or even who or what slayed her. But they did state that she died protecting Ruby in a way, which is what she'd always wanted.

"How's your sister, Ruby?" Jaune asked, carefully. It was a touchy subject still, but he felt his new leader couldn't focus properly without her being alright.

"She's still getting used to the arm." Ruby clarified, "Her writing is getting a lot better, to say the least. Dad's been gentle."

Jaune nodded as he grabbed his sword from the snow and walked beside Ruby, with Nora and Ren behind them. The four had become collectively known as Team RNJR, pronounced 'ranger,' following the typical naming conventions of hunters and huntresses. Jaune was more than welcome, practically begging, for Ruby to lead them. He cited his state of mind after the loss of Pyrrha to be his reason for the request, when in actuality it was only partially so. Jaune just didn't want his own failures to cause another teammate's untimely end. He couldn't bear to have even more blood on his hands.

He felt as if his own infidelity played a role in this. _Guard the hallway._ Ozpin had been clear and concise with the instruction. But Jaune was curious about the process in the tubes behind him, so he let his guard down. Part of being a hunter is the diligence and attention needed to properly have an awareness of all surrounding areas, and not focus on just one at a time. But he only had one doorway to watch, and therefore no excuse.

Nora and Ren had also been hurt during a battle at Beacon, before being saved by Velvet Scarletina, a rabbit Faunus with the ability to copy any weapon or ability she had photographed, but just once. After the incident, they became even closer with each other, barely leaving one another's side. They had been close friends since childhood, especially considering they were both orphans.

Qrow had imparted Ruby on some advice that his search for answers on Cinder Fall, that bitch, who had deemed herself the future queen, to Haven. Ruby had talked it over with the team and decided that the best course of action would be to continue Qrow's work, as he now had to continue in Ozpin's stead, tending to what remained of the school and leading the survivors in a sense, which meant he needed to find a way to contact them. With the tower gone, communications over the air were stopped entirely, so he had his work cut out for him.

RNJR collectively agreed that they would need to seriously up their strategy if they were to somehow survive whatever Cinder could have up her sleeve in Haven. None of the team members have ever been there, so there was little to go on, and without an airship in operation due to the drop of the communications tower, they'd likely need another form of transport or as a last resort, _walk_ the many miles necessary. Everyone had a reason for being here, and they would do their duty with due diligence.

Ruby recommended her father for strategic advice, of which, he was able to impart on them the wisdom of quick adaptations. They had learned to play off each other's strengths, and the past week had been absolute hell. Early mornings and late nights spent in the clearing by the Xiao Long household, where RNJR had been staying. Ren and Nora had no home to go to any longer, and Jaune had no way of letting his parents and siblings know that he was okay.

But they had already said their good byes to Ruby's family. Qrow was already on a trek to the city to rebuild Beacon from rubble, all while trying to avoid the Grimm. And Taiyang was trying so desperately to bring his daughter Yang's blissful jollity back. So Ruby did as her mother would have done in her stead. She lifted her head, put one foot in front of the other, and pressed forward, as every Rose before her had done. She gave the word, with authority and conviction:

"Team RNJR, let's move."


	2. For Beacon

The first thing that they would need to accomplish is a base camp, something to operate out of. It had to be somewhere in Mistral that they could move about in, yet out of the way and not somewhere that Cinder could find them. After the incident at Beacon, no one really knows what happened to Cinder, but the fact that Qrow didn't see any bodies at the top of the tower couldn't possibly bode well.

Haven was an academy, and a profound one at that. Home to Team ABRN and Team SSSN, which included Blake Belladonna's friend Sun Wukong. Team RNJR had done a bit of research with Qrow on any notable people that he met on his journeys, but not much was available. To the team, the real hope in this came in trying to find someone who was from the kingdom that they knew.

Jaune suggested Sun Wukong. Sun was a monkey Faunus of dire repute. Not exactly the definition of trustworthy, he had his moments of cleverness, which could prove invaluable to the effort. Ruby chimed in with agreement, stating that Sun knows Blake, and therefore almost proves Blake might also have info about Haven, or at least Mistral. In order to make a move into the kingdom, they would need to find at least one of them.

"Team, have we decided on which subject we should be finding first?" Ruby spoke now with command authority, her usual self changed with the terrible occurrences she laid witness to; two deaths and a maimed sister truly affected the young girl. Her psyche was still the same old Ruby, but she now brought this air of seriousness with her previously unheard of. It worried Jaune the most, previously relying on he bubbly personality in order to maintain a self-esteem and confidence in himself, now to see this new war have an effect on even her.

And it was a new war. With Cinder's actions, kingdoms no longer trust Vale and its policies. Vale in turn blamed Mistral for the allowance of a terrorist to not only attend their finest academy, but to bring such destruction into Vale. Mistral, finally, blaming Atlas for not being able to provide sufficient security and allowing this attack after making an oath to keep the Vytal festival totally secure. Cinder seemingly teaming up with the Grimm just added insult to injury, and that meant now more than ever the kingdoms would need to cooperate and form a democratized council, but alas, that wasn't the case.

Ruby Rose knew they weren't alone on all of this. There were a lot of routes available to them, many avenues to explore and ideas to uncover, and their plan had little substance to it. The main idea here was that they needed Blake or Sun, hopefully both, for information about the academy and Mistral as a whole in order to formulate another plan, this time on where they can hold out, places of interest, government status.

But in the end, they were all children. Ruby was still 15, leading 17 year olds into the fray, a suicide mission by some standards. There was just no way they could accomplish this mission on their own, if at all. Ozpin himself had barely landed any hits on Cinder during a fight, and once his flurry ended, did no more damage. Ozpin's Group were professionals, and some of the most effective, world-class hunters that Remnant has ever seen.

But Ruby knew her legacy. The Roses have a trait, in their silver eyes, born to her and her mother and an unknown amount before them, possibly, that gave them unbelievable strength, and the will of a warrior. The need to fight, and the willingness as well. Dire need makes concrete out of putty, and she knew her fate now. With the blinding light, her eyes were opened, figuratively and literally, and she now saw the world through a more mature lens. Being a huntress was no longer fun and games. To Ruby, it was a privilege.

"The last we saw of Sun, he was fighting alongside the other teams." Ren noted. Him and Nora hadn't remembered much. It wasn't a whole lot to go on, so they would be forced to head to Mistral on their own, and see if they can pick up any clues.

"If we run into Blake, she'll know where Sun is. Assuming she cooperates." Ruby's words were tart as the disdain was felt amongst the group. Blake was another touchy subject. She had run away after the battle, leaving Yang with the others, not in one piece, either. She held her hand until right before she ran off, but no one could guess why she did. Regret? Anger? It was hard to say, but it happened this way, and assumptions could only get you so far.

They still weren't sure the extent of the damage the comms tower being brought down had. See, Mistral was an ocean over, and swimming wasn't about to happen. If they were able to get onboard a ship of some sort, they could likely cross. The public airships couldn't be used, but maybe someone else had a craft?

Ruby nodded as she led her team into the town. The Xiao Longs live in the part of the forest opposite the city, with Summer's grave on a cliff facing it, so it would be a bit of a walk to go around the edge of the cliff. Grimm were scarce to nonexistent in these woods, so they shouldn't be expecting a fight; any Grimm at all would likely be alone or in a mating pair.

Jaune walked beside Ruby the entire way out of the forest, while Ren and Nora brought up the rear, casually glancing around and getting in the view. They hadn't been to the city since they entered the forest, so it would take a bit to adjust, and it could be awhile before they see forest again. Upon arrival at the city, things were clear that rebuilding this town would take a lot longer than they thought.

Debris everywhere, people trying to clear ship parts from roadways, and amateur hunters and huntresses standing guard over the civilians. Some alumni from Beacon and Signal, and a few wannabes with brooms and kitchen knives, anything really. And a walk deeper showed the true danger behind it all. There was a large perimeter around the main road, where hunters and huntresses with increasingly more intimidating weapons guarded. Beyond them, Grimm.

Grimm of a massive following were walking along the main road, off in the distance visible but not in ear shot. Ursas and Beowolves and even Goliaths were crossing to get into the school, with smaller Nevermore flying above. They all followed that same path, not digressing from the path, as the proud school these students attended only a short time ago was now covered in pitch black at all the Grimm lining the buildings and spires of Beacon. Ruby opened her mouth wide at the site, in sheer disbelief that this is the result. Her school. RNJRs school. RWBY and JNPRs school. There in the distance, pitch black in the late morning sun.

Ruby began to tear up at the idea. Jaune held her shoulder as he covered his eyes from the sun, bowing his head. Ren and Nora were shoulder to shoulder, heads downcast in distress. The four stood with heavy hearts at the wanton destruction, the loss of their school, all of Vale coming together as one to bring their city, no, kingdom back.

It hit like a homecoming to Jaune. To see his home destroyed like this and see his teammates with their faces downward, tears at the rims of their eyes and pout to their lips. The pure emotion of this entire moment hit Jaune right to his very soul. His carefree eyes and light smile shifted to a look of anger and regret, as he raised his sword in anger, and shouted toward the sky:

"Let's make this bastard pay!" His eyes watered as he lowered his weapon, wiping his face and adjusting his disheveled hair. Ruby nodded her head in agreement, turning to the others to give instruction. "We need to do this for us, and for each other. But most importantly, for Beacon." Ren and Nora nodded as well, lifting their chins up and began moving eastward. Ruby and Jaune began asking the hunters at the perimeter if they knew of any transport that could get them to Haven. After a few conversations, a huntress mentioned a few helicopters on their way to Atlas, but that was mostly for the soldiers. Ruby told them they had no choice, and that even if they couldn't get to Haven, even Atlas would be a better place than here. Maybe they had transport between Atlas and Mistral, right?

Ruby swallowed hard as she ran for the departure zone, a park near the east of the city, right near the perimeter. The remainder of Team RNJR followed closely, intent on bringing the fight to Cinder.


End file.
